Neighbourhood Profiles

Cabbagetown

Cabbagetown is one of Toronto's most popular neighbourhoods. Its residents come from a wide variety of backgrounds, however they all share a strong sense of community spirit and pride in their neighbourhood.

This community spirit is put on display every September during the Cabbagetown Fall Festival that runs for an entire weekend and features a mini marathon, historical walking tours, a parade and a community wide yard sale.

HISTORY

Cabbagetown's history began in the 1840's when thousands of Irish immigrants settled here after fleeing the potato famines in their homeland. These first Cabbagetown residents were very poor. To put food on the table they grew cabbages on their front lawns, which is how this district came to be known as Cabbagetown.

Cabbagetown's working class community was particulary hard hit by the Depression of the 1930's. Cabbagetown historian Hugh Garner, wrote that the Depression turned Cabbagetown into "the worst Anglo Saxon slum in North America". The worst slums were concentrated south of Gerrard Street. These homes were razed in the 1950's and replaced by the Regent Park housing development.

Cabbagetown was revitalized in the 1970's and 1980's by new home buyers, who restored much of this neighbourhoods fine collection of Victorian homes. Cabbagetown is now considered one of Toronto's most gentrified neighbourhoods.

**The Toronto neighbourhood text profiles, sketches and maps displayed on this web site were originally published in “Your Guide to Toronto Neighbourhoods”, are © Maple Tree Publishing Inc. and have been reproduced by Toronto Real Estate Board under license.